Pioneering on the Yukon 1892–1917 by Anna DeGraf (review)

386 Western American Literature The story of the Larsh family is a story of pioneers, and the heroism ofthe women (“Rachel Larsh reared eight children in a small wooden house without electricity or running water”), is given a place of prominence. Their hardships were many, although “[D]eath dwelled constantly in the silver camp.” The Climax [molybdenum] Mine was a leading economic force in Leadville from the 1920s to the 1980s. The mine islocated in whatwas once the pristine Fremont Pass, at least it was a beautiful mountain pass when John C. Fremont came by in 1843. The authors cover the environmental aspect in several chapters, including one ironically titled, “From Sea to Shining Sea.” Before the white men arrived in Colorado, the Arapahoe and Cheyenne Indians first owned these mountains, and itwas “Little Raven, an Arapaho chief who was amused by the activities ofwhite men,”telling the “miners he was glad to see them getting gold, but reminded them that the land belonged to the Indians, and expressed the hope theywould not stayaround after theyfound all the yellow metal they needed” (Dee Brown, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, 1972, 68). Of course the white men never kept any of their treaties with the Native Americans and the white men never left Colorado. It was not the intent of the authors to give a factual history of Leadville, as they point out. Instead, this is the story of early white settlement and, in particular, the rise ofthe Larsh family in the Colorado Rockies, one part of the mythical and very real west. DORYS CROW GROVER East Texas State University Pioneeringon the Yukon 1892-1917. ByAnna DeGraf. Edited by Roger S. Brown. (Hamden, Connecticut: The Shoe String Press, 1992, 126 pages, $19.50.) After twenty-fiveyears in the Yukon,Anna DeGraf, prompted bythe birth of a great-granddaughter and “a longing”for her family, went “outside,”back to the States, to live. These motivations lend symmetry to her intriguing memoirs because family feeling also initiated DeGrafs northern experiences. In 1892, her son went adventuring, never to return; hearing speculation that he might be in Alaska, DeGrafsold her business and setoffto find him. Becoming known as “Mother”or “the Samaritan” to numerous settlers, DeGraf persisted in her search, moving about the territory, and along the way “The North . . . cast its spell on [her].” DeGraf, who was fifty-three and walked with a crutch when she headed north, exhibited great courage and tenacity: “Manytimes my heart did bump— I was so frightened—but I pretended that I wasjust the bravest thing in the world and got through all right.”Despite staking several claims, DeGrafprima­ Reviews 387 rily earned her living by needlework. Her clients ranged from major trading companies to dance hall girls (when they arrived—Anna was there before them), and her friends were as widely assorted. Deep in old age, for instance, DeGraf supported herself as wardrobe mistress at the Pantages Theater, entre­ preneur “Alec”Pantages having been a north country associate. Many episodes are simple stories of warm, supportive acquaintances or humane strangers, but DeGrafsurvived grave hardships aswell, including a plot to murder her (and jump her claim), being lost and alone on the trail, and losing everything by fire. Amusing and jolly times also figure prominently in these stories—evading Canadian customs by a spirited rendering of “God Save the Queen,”a dance lasting from one evening until the next noon, and homely but heart-warming Christmas celebrations. Recorded for her descendants in unadorned, directlanguagewhichvivifies frontier life, Pioneering on the Yukon is enjoyable in and for itself. It is also a worthy addition to the growing body of female autobiography rescued from oblivion to enrich the history of this nation. JANE S. BAKERMAN Indiana State University Riding the White Horse Home: A Western Family Album. By Teresa Jordan. (New York: Pantheon, 1993. 219 pages, $21.00.) When Iwas in high school, mymother bought me a copyofTeresaJordan’s first book, Cowgirls: Women oftheAmerican West. I read it and reread it, fascinated with the personal accounts of strong western women. Jordan’s newest book, Riding the WhiteHorseHome, is another one that I will read again and again. Jordan, raised on...